A group of students from the three degrees in Communication taught at the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO) visited the Filmoteca Vasca, (Basque Film Library), located in the Centro Internacional de Cultura Contemporánea Tabakalera (Tabakalera International Center of Contemporary Culture) in San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa).
The activity was part of the course Evolution of Audiovisual Technology, taught by Professor Nacho Gutiérrez-Solana, and is common for students of the following degrees: Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations, and Audiovisual Communication.
The visit allowed the future communicators to learn first-hand about some of the different types of film, video, and digital cinema formats that have been used since the birth of this medium. Due to the historical nature of the Evolution of Audiovisual Technology subject and the expiration of formats, there are a series of processes and elements that students can only learn about through photographs. However, the Filmoteca Vasca brings together a good number of these formats and machines and offers the possibility of guided tours of about ninety minutes.
Throughout the course, students from UNEATLANTICO toured the facilities, received abundant explanations about the various audiovisual processes and attended a DCP projection of short films from different periods, ranging from the first Spanish films to the latest short films of the Basque catalog.
Among the elements that the students were able to see in operation were the 4k analog-digital telecine for 35- and 16-mm. films, the HD scanner, the moviolas for 16- and 35-mm. films, the projection room for small formats (8 mm., super 8 mm., and 9.5 mm.), as well as the archive in which films of different formats are kept.
The tour has contributed to broaden the training of students in areas such as the recording of the photographic image, the evolution of film formats, the video camera and display elements, projectors and overhead projectors, the transition from analog to digital systems, film editing, or analog and digital distribution and exhibition in the cinema.